REVIEW: KILL THE FATHER By Sandrone Dazieri

In this fascinatingly complex thriller, two people, each shattered by their past, team to solve a series of killings and abductions…

When a woman is beheaded in a park outside Rome and her six-year-old son goes missing, the police unit assigned to the case sees an easy solution: they arrest the woman’s husband and await his confession. But the Chief of Rome’s Major Crimes unit doubts things are so simple. Secretly, he lures to the case two of Italy’s top analytical minds: Deputy Captain Colomba Caselli, a fierce, warrior-like detective still reeling from having survived a bloody catastrophe, and Dante Torre, a man who spent his childhood trapped inside a concrete silo. Fed through the gloved hand of a masked kidnapper who called himself “The Father,” Dante emerged from his ordeal with crippling claustrophobia but, also, with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and hyper-observant capacities.

All evidence suggests that the Father is back and active after being dormant for decades. Indeed, he has left tell-tale signs that signal he’s looking forward to a reunion with Dante. But when Columba and Dante begin following the ever-more-bizarre trail of clues, they grasp that what’s really going on is darker than they ever imagined.

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Kill The Father drew me in from the opening pages with writing so detailed and expressive I didn’t have a choice but to keep turning the pages as fast as possible. I was immediately immersed in the life of Dante from “before” when he was the kid being held captive in the silo by a man known as The Father; the author brilliantly gives just enough info (not graphic though) so I felt disturbed, yet also connected to Dante before he ends the prologue with a doozy of a cliffhanger. This technique of ending the fairly short chapters with cliffhangers continues throughout the book and I have to say it worked to keep me bargaining with myself late into the night for just one more chapter.

We soon meet detective Columba Caselli and get to know her after her survival of what she calls the Disaster. Her PTSD is frightening and disabling for her and she has yet to return to duty. When the murder described in the blurb occurs and the young son goes missing, Columba is called in by her boss Rovere to work discreetly under the radar to find out what the investigating detectives, who’re only focused on the husband, may be missing. He suggests she seek the help of a “consultant” named Dante Torre and from there the story is off and rolling.

Columba and Dante hit it off and despite the issues of each of them they quickly form an alliance and their back and forth banter is THE BEST! It really endeared them both to me and I kept thinking I haven’t enjoyed a partnership so much since reading The Lacey Flint series by Sharon Bolton. The quick dialogue between the two of them and actually between all the characters was SPOT ON! It read like a movie and I quickly became attached to both Columba and Dante as their hunt for The Father intensified.

The novel continues at a fairly quick pace and as the complex puzzle of a plot pulled me deeper and deeper into the fray, I started to realize that this story had way more layers than I initially thought. This book requires close attention to detail. The plot is complex to say the least. The narrative is structured in such a way that we are occasionally taken back in time to “Before” which, for me, didn’t interrupt the flow until I got to the last 35% of the book. At this time, I felt things shifted for me and I was finding myself confused and turning back a few pages to re-read what had happened. This happened several times along with what I felt was a slowing of the narrative. This book is what I would call dense which isn’t a bad thing by any means but with all the threads and the complexity of the plot, I really think it could’ve been trimmed by about 100 pages and not lost any of the suspense or thrills. I’ll finish by saying the ending had a twist that I didn’t see coming. Loved it!! I really enjoyed this American debut and I’ll be waiting with fingers crossed that we haven’t seen the last of Dante and Columba!

4.5/5 Stars

***Update Alert…if you browse through my comments you’ll see that Denise who represents the author confirms that there is definitely going to be a sequel and it sounds like at least one more after that!! So now you all really have to read this one and jump on board NOW, at the start of what promises to be a thrilling series. Can’t wait!***

While I’m not looking forward to carrying an extra 100 pages, I’ll read them just the same 🙂 given how you’ve described the spot on dialogue and complexity of the plot. Thanks for the heads up on the interruption of the flow.

I think you’ll like this one and you may have no issue with confusion toward the end. For me this plot was so complex (which is a good thing) that it lost me for a little bit. In the end it all came together and I was happy though! I hope you’ll add this one to the top of your poor TBR:)

Thanks so much! It’s his American debut but he’s wrote a lot in Italy already. It’s a really good unique thriller with a little bit of everything mixed in which I really enjoyed. And if you like a strong male/female dynamic in your police procedurals you’ll love this

I do like a good partnership in crime fiction – it’s such a good way to get to know the characters. Like you, I love Lacey and Mark, and I also love Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series and her interchanges with the awful but oddly still likeable Josh Derwent… 🙂

Then you’ll like this book, the dynamic between Columba and Dante is great. Realistic and often funny and it’s a refreshing change that it’s a friendship versus love interest. So…have we talked about Jane Casey’s series before? Because I’m always up for any crime series with characters similar to Lacey and Mark.

Hmm… perhaps not. Jane Casey’s been changing publishers so it’s been longer than usual since her last book. But she’s great, and just your cuppa tea, I’d think. The first in the series is The Burning, which is very g0od in itself, but the series gets better and better as it goes along. Her partnership with Josh only really starts from about the third book… 🙂

That’s fantastic!! Thank you for commenting and sharing that info. I can add an update to my review post so people who read know there’s more to come. I’d be thrilled to read and review his next one whenever you release advanced copies. I can’t wait, this is one of those books you just wish you had the sequel in your hands now!!:)

I think you’re really going to like this one Annie!! I thought of you and Janel right away as others I can see liking this book. I can’t wait for you to read it so we can discuss. I was running errands today and still thinking about one part that I really needed to still sort out…the sign of a great read for sure:)

You sold this book to me! 😀 I love a good pairing, it can make such a big difference on a story! Add to it an intricate plot and lots of creepiness and I’m in! Great review! Now I know one of my books will take me to Italy!

Yay!! So happy you’ve decided to give it a try. I have to say I finished it Sunday and I’m still thinking about it, even after reading another one. I may adjust my rating to a 4.5 because that book has stayed in by head. And I’m with you…I hope to go Italy within the next 4 years so I was very excited to read a thriller set there!! I hope you enjoy it and thanks for stopping by and commenting:)

My library is very close, and I get a lot of ebooks through their digital site as well. I’m realizing how lucky I am to have such a n awesome library so close by as others have said their libraries don’t have a good selection of new releases.